Chapter 242

< World War II - The Spring of War (4) >

March 7, 1942

East Belarus, Gomel – Allied Headquarters

A bridgehead established on the east bank of the Dnieper River.

When I arrived at the Allied Headquarters in Gomel, built for the upcoming offensive, I nearly fainted.

“Oh, welcome, Minister.”

No, why am I hearing English here?

Regardless, Patton flashed a grin, revealing his white teeth.

Wait, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with the Free Russian Army?

“It’s been a while, Minister of Defense.”

“Welcome.”

And next to Patton, Erwin Rommel and a rather haggard-looking Wedemeyer also greeted me.

This is a very, very bad feeling…

Looking around, I saw the fed-up faces of Field Marshal Günther von Kluge and Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, and the troubled expression of Field Marshal Ewald von Kleist.

“Welcome, Minister of Defense.”

Even as this was happening, Patton and Rommel were deep in discussion, with a struggling Wedemeyer stuck between them as an interpreter.

“So, what I’m saying is, isn’t it enough to leave it to the infantry and artillery units you left behind?”

“Ha, our German Army’s infantry and artillery units are mechanized with armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery, so they can certainly move together!”

“Good mobility! But if you completely exclude conventional infantry for that, it means the entire formation will have to be committed to the annihilation mission! Cavalry must never stop, so that would be putting the cart before the horse!”

I decided to leave Patton, Rommel, and Wedemeyer for now and approached the Army Group Commanders.

“…Why is that man here?”

When I asked in a lowered voice, Field Marshal Kleist answered with a look of worldly resignation.

“I’d like to ask you the same thing, Minister. He started snooping around, saying he was interested, and before I knew it, he had settled in.”

Since they were technically allies, it must have been difficult to coldly turn him away when he said he wanted to observe.

A man with common sense would have observed for a bit and then taken the hint to leave, but Patton wasn’t one to have such tact.

Meanwhile, the argument between Patton and Rommel was growing more heated.

“Aha, so you’re saying you’re not confident because your US Army would take too long to annihilate the enemy?”

“Oh-ho, I wonder if you’ll still be able to run your mouth after I hunt down those commies and shove them down your throat.

How about a bet?”

…After our first meeting, I thought Patton was more of a man of common sense than I expected, but was he just showing me courtesy as a politician?

Fortunately, Wedemeyer didn't translate Patton’s words literally. If he had, the two would have drawn their pistols for a duel long ago.

There was a reason Wedemeyer looked so haggard.

“A bet sounds good!”

Patton and Rommel shouted almost simultaneously, looking in my direction.

“The US Army wants to participate in the Battle of Kursk!”

“Please send my unit to the same area as the US Army!”

I felt a wave of vertigo and pressed my hand to my forehead.

“The nerve of that impertinent lieutenant general, tsk tsk.

If he were in the German Army, I’d have had his head.”

The crusty Field Marshal Bock.

“Surely you wouldn’t mobilize the untrustworthy US Army at such an important juncture, Minister?”

Field Marshal Kluge, full of pride in the German Army and distrustful of the Americans.

“That’s all well and good, but do you really have to do this in my unit, which is already full of troublemakers?”

Field Marshal Kleist, muttering in a tone that was almost a lament.

Perfect. Just perfectly perfect.

I smiled as cheerfully as I could and replied.

“The US Army are volunteer soldiers meant to support Free Russia, are they not? I appreciate General Patton’s motivation, but it is the Free Russian Army that desperately needs the help of the US Army on the Eastern Front.”

But Patton wouldn’t be Patton if he backed down at that.

“Free Russia has plenty of equipment from their home country’s support! Germany has deployed a unit for them too! If they’re still cowards who need protection, then those bastards don’t have the right to be warriors fighting alongside this Patton!”

Patton, who had been somewhat polite during our first meeting, now showed his true colors, perhaps out of excitement.

Is this man really from the 20th century…?

Finally, I sighed and turned my gaze to Wedemeyer.

“Chief of Staff, is this Washington’s will?”

“N-No, sir, Minister! General! Please cool your head! Let’s step outside for a moment! Please!”

In the end, Patton was reluctantly dragged out by Wedemeyer.

I had separated them in anticipation of something like this, but now I was certain.

Patton and Rommel—no, all the other German generals—must be kept apart at all costs.

If they were all thrown together, it wouldn’t be strange if some kind of disaster occurred!

Only after Patton was dragged away could I finally attend to my original purpose for visiting.

Discussing supply issues for each army group, gathering opinions to convey for Manstein’s operational plan…

“Minister, do you have a moment?”

“Ah, yes.

General Rommel.”

Rommel led me outside with a somewhat serious and grave expression.

I wondered what it could be about, but he broke into a smile and opened his mouth.

“I sent a congratulatory letter before, but I sincerely congratulate you on the birth of your daughter.

It is a great relief to hear that your wife has also returned to her duties in good health.”

“Haha, thank you!”

Ah, so this is how he scores points.

He knows exactly how to put me in a good mood.

He might be a bit of an attention seeker, but he’s a good person at heart—

“Ahem, ahem.

And there is something I must tell you…”

“Hm?”

“…General Guderian’s unit is being assigned more Panther and Tiger tanks. General Hube’s unit is a bit better off since it has many newly reorganized armored units, but the imbalance in my unit is severe.”

Manstein again…

While Claudia was on maternity leave, I was swamped with work and couldn’t pay attention, and he pulled this! Honestly, this damn German Army never lets a man let his guard down!

“Hmph. Thank you for letting me know, General.

I’ll make sure it’s corrected as soon as I return.”

“Thank you! Ah, and… ahem.

Ahem.”

“Is there more?”

Rommel smiled awkwardly and began to speak.

“As you know, I helped you during the election, Minister. Since you’re correcting the problem anyway, if you could show me some special consideration, I will be sure to repay you with splendid military gains.”

“…”

You’re no different from that bastard Manstein…

I already want to quit and go back to see Claudia and Lucia’s faces.

Just as I was thinking that, Mr.

Berger came running up in a hurry.

“Urgent news, Minister!”

“Yes? Urgent news?”

What other urgent news could there be from here?

“A civil war has broken out in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia! The Prime Minister has requested your immediate return to Berlin!”

Oh, for God’s sake.

In the end, that immature young king had to go and start something.

I visited the army groups first according to the chain of command, but now it looks like I’ll have to return without even meeting the crucial Free Russian Army and General Model.

Damn Balkans…

*

March 8, 1942

Western Soviet Union, Roslavl – Free Russian Army Occupied Territory

Squeak—

Squeak—

The ominous sound of creaking chains echoed.

Walter Model glanced up with his monocled eye at the chains making the unsettling noise, then slowly lowered his gaze.

At the entrance to the city, corpses hung bound in chains, swaying in the wind.

The corpses were smeared with Russian words he didn't know, painted in blood-red paint.

“Shall I translate for you, General?”

“…No, that’s alright.”

Model shook his head and started walking again.

It was probably insults like ‘commie’ or some other denunciation.

The stationed Free Russian Army soldiers, seemingly accustomed to the corpses that had been hanging in the severe cold of the Russian land for who knows how long, calmly let Walter Model inside.

Walter Model walked on in silence, lost in thought.

Dietrich Schacht, who had intended to meet with him and the Free Russian Army in person, had sent his apologies, explaining that he had to cancel his schedule due to the sudden outbreak of the Yugoslavian Civil War.

-Please coordinate with the US Army and the Free Russian Army, but prevent them from running too wild or collapsing. I apologize for asking you to take on the most difficult role.

You are the only one I can trust with such a role, General Model.

Walter Model could roughly guess what Dietrich Schacht was thinking and what kind of face he had made when sending such a telegram.

Passing through the tense urban area of Roslavl, seemingly in preparation for the decisive battle, Walter Model came face to face with Chairman Andrey Vlasov at the command post.

“Welcome, General Model.

On behalf of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, I express my gratitude for your and Germany’s cooperation.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Chairman.”

Model exchanged a light handshake with Vlasov.

Vlasov offered him a seat and observed Model with eyes full of fervor from behind his glasses, while Model began to speak heavily.

“Chairman, there were some unpleasant things hanging at the city entrance.”

At first, Vlasov didn’t seem to understand what he meant, but then a faint smile appeared on his face.

“Ah, are you perhaps referring to the disposal of the Soviet collaborators?”

When Model nodded, Vlasov maintained his smile and replied.

“Please don’t misunderstand.

They were those who collaborated with the Soviets to oppress the free people of Russia, or partisans captured by the Free Russian Army. We even held summary trials.”

It wasn’t a war crime against innocent civilians, which Germany and the Allied Forces so strongly emphasized.

At that explanation, Model’s eyes narrowed.

“Even so, is it necessary to hang the corpses? It’s an unnecessary act, even for criminals.”

“General, do you know the saying, ‘Kill one to frighten a hundred’?”

“…”

“General Kaminski said he heard it from a fellow Asian inmate while he was held in the Gulag.

Regrettably, for as many who have faith in Russia’s freedom and are willing to dedicate themselves to us, there are just as many who seek to collaborate with the oppressive regime of the Soviet Union and Communism.”

As he said this, Vlasov paused with a heavy expression before continuing.

“Although it may not be a pleasant sight, we are in a civil war. If such a measure serves as a warning to those who are still hesitating to collaborate with the Soviets, then in the end, we can reduce the blood that the people of Russia will shed.”

After a brief silence, Vlasov spoke.

“Abnormal situations call for abnormal methods.”

The old Model would not have pressed the issue further.

Soldiers do not meddle in politics, and politicians do not meddle in military affairs.

It was a belief he had upheld for half his life under the teaching of his direct superior, Hans von Seeckt.

But Dietrich Schacht had shaken his belief to its core.

A politician trusting the military is different from neglecting it.

It is never right for the military to try to seize and shake politics, but neither should it offer uncritical, unconditional obedience.

Because they had failed to do so, Germany had almost been swayed by the Nazis and walked into the flames of war.

Recalling the madness and recklessness the Nazis had shown at the very end, Model chose his words carefully before speaking.

“Even so, I have come here to help your country on behalf of the Allied Forces, and I do not wish to see such a sight, at least in the area I oversee. I do not know if such measures will guarantee Free Russia’s victory, but cruelty only begets more cruelty.”

Vlasov raised a hand, adjusted his glasses, and met Model’s cold gaze.

A moment of silence passed.

Though his expression didn’t show much agreement, Vlasov nodded.

“Very well.

The rainy season will be upon us soon, and the corpses will begin to decompose anyway, so I will order them to be taken down.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

The subsequent discussion proceeded smoothly, at least on the surface.

After a brief discussion about the operation and the German Army’s movements, just as Model was about to rise from his seat, Vlasov threw an unexpected question at him.

“By the way, you served as the Chief of Staff for the Condor Legion, did you not?”

“…That is correct.”

“From what I’ve heard, the horrors of the Spanish Civil War were beyond comparison to what is happening here now.”

“…”

“Were you unable to speak out back then because you were just the Chief of Staff of a volunteer force and lacked sufficient authority?”

“…No, that’s not it.”

Among the members of the Condor Legion, there were some who were horrified by the atrocities in Spain and protested to the Nationalists, or who reported the horrors to their home country and requested action.

Model was not one of them.

“General.

If you combine all the soldiers and civilians who died on both sides in the Spanish Civil War, it wouldn’t even reach one-tenth of the number of people who have been sacrificed because of that man, Stalin.”

The Holodomor, the Great Purge, and all those sacrificed in Finland, Poland, and the war against the Allied Forces.

“As long as we fail to stop him, to stop the Soviet Union, those sacrifices will continue to grow. We have risen to overthrow him and fight for the freedom of the Russian people…”

America, which he had trusted, had been attacked by Japan and had drastically lowered the priority of Free Russia.

And Germany, the center of the Allied Powers, was treating Free Russia almost like a white elephant.

In that situation, Vlasov, steeped in anxiety and impatience, spoke in a heavily suppressed tone.

“Germany, which was silent in Spain, applies a uniquely strict standard only to us. What is the reason? Is the excuse simply that the regime has changed?”

Walter Model looked at Vlasov quietly and then slowly shook his head.

“No. It is because I was taught that instead of abandoning thought and obeying, if I saw something wrong, I must correct it.”

At Walter Model’s words, Andrey Vlasov let out a hollow laugh.

“It is regrettable that Germany, which claims to fight for freedom, seems to think we are fighting only for our own selfish gain.”

A gaze passed between Vlasov's glasses and Model’s monocle.

“I do not think your cause is wrong.”

As a soldier, Walter Model did not think that the Nazis’ cause itself—to raise Germany from the ruins of the Treaty of Versailles—had been wrong.

That was why he had obeyed with a willing heart.

“However, I know what harm can be caused by those who justify their means because their purpose is righteous. …You know this well too, don’t you, Chairman? Isn't it because you know it so well that you raised a rebellion against the Soviet Union?”

He was just grateful that he had realized, before it was too late, that the cause was merely being used to cover up the evil acts hidden behind it.

Vlasov’s mouth twitched.

To protect the Soviet Union from the threat of corrupt capitalists.

With that justification, the Soviet Union had sacrificed countless Russian people to consolidate Stalin’s power.

And now, Free Russia, which had taken up the cause of overthrowing the Soviet Union, treated the Russian people they deemed ‘commies’ as targets to be sacrificed as a matter of course.

If necessary, by spilling the blood of countless Russians and foreign soldiers.

“…I am a German general, and I have a duty to lead my subordinates properly.

You, Chairman, also have a duty to lead your subordinates properly. I hope that your desperation does not lead them down the wrong path.

Neither my subordinates, nor yours.”

There was no reply from Vlasov.